Local fishing report: Sunshine brings bass back to beds

St. Johns River and area lakes

The warm weather, perhaps aided by the new moon, has pushed frisky female bass back onto their spawning beds from Welaka north to Palatka. Lake George is ground zero for this bite. But there have also been some very big fish caught this week by fishermen floating live, wild shiners just off the weed lines down there. These are also the big girls who are staging up drop their roe but have not had that biological switch flipped just yet.

Speckled perch are in that same transitional phase, holding in 6 to 8 feet of water just off the lily pads. You can narrow that search by looking for submerged trees or stumps in the pads and working those areas. Dunn’s Creek and Haw Creek have been hot. There were reports of specks in the pads at the mouth of the Ocklawaha River as well.

If you have a flat-bottom boat that can launch in real shallow water, try Lake Lochloosa. Some nice specks are coming from there, but the ramp is too dry for anything much larger than a jon boat to launch.

Otherwise, the bluegill, shellcracker and catfish are biting well. Fish worms in deeper holes and you’ll cover all three of those bases.

The Intracoastal Waterway

The weather’s been so bad there were few reports. But this is the best time of the year to score a really big sheepshead. The big females are full of roe, and 10-pounders are not uncommon. If you find the big fish, you’re almost certainly going to be into the smaller males as well. Remember that the one big spawning female has the potential to lay thousands of eggs. Eat the males. Release the spawners, please.

Reds are back up in the flats and creeks. Smaller trout are moving into shallower water as it warms. Trolling slowly up and down the ICW is a good way to find them now. Flounder are still small and scattered.

Fishing the deeper holes and channels in the ICW should produce some nice whiting and smallish yellowmouth trout. Use fresh, dead shrimp. You may catch a few black drum in the process.

The Atlantic Ocean

There was only one report locally from out on the ledge. Capt. Robert Johnson made it out over the weekend and found three wahoo, a few blackfin tuna and three dolphin. Most of his fish were caught at around 150 feet and were spread out. There were no distinct temperature breaks out there, Johnson said.

The whiting fishing continues to improve in the surf. Crescent Beach is loaded with very distinct sloughs right now. It’s worth a drive along the beach from the Crescent Beach Ramp to Matanzas at low tide to mark a couple for a return trip at higher water. But last week the bite was on the last of the falling tide, so you can find the sloughs and fish them at the same time. Early mornings will be good this weekend.

The Weather

Saturday will be better than Sunday, if you need to choose. Southwest winds will blow at 15 knots Saturday with 2 to 3 foot seas. A front should move in that night leaving behind northwest winds Sunday at 15 to 20 knots.